Creating awareness, infrastructure and collaborations has topped the “to do” list since the University of Nebraska and the United States Strategic Command announced a strategic partnership that created a University Affiliated Research Center last October.

Housed in NU’s National Strategic Research Institute, the UARC provides research and development services to USSTRATCOM and other defense agencies in areas of demonstrated faculty expertise. These areas include: nuclear detection and forensics, detection of chemical and biological weapons, passive defense against weapons of mass destruction, consequence management, and space, cyber and telecommunications law. more …

New programs and partnerships through the Robert B. Daugherty Water for Food Institute are extending the reach of University of Nebraska faculty expertise beyond Nebraska to other regions around the globe. more …

Work continues for UNL’s new Social and Behavioral Sciences Research Initiative with two events planned for spring semester.

Results of a recent survey will be shared at an upcoming faculty forum. SBSRI organizers surveyed tenured and tenure-track faculty in the social and behavioral sciences about research interests, research barriers, and faculty resources and support services. more …

Football fans appreciate tackling, blocking and high-impact movements for their playmaking ability. But the reason those plays work – and the resulting collisions are risky – comes down to physics.

During the April 5 Nebraska Lecture, “Football: Its Physics and Future,” UNL physics professor Timothy Gay will discuss the history of American football, the physics of the large forces that occur on the field and the inherent dangers, attempts to ban the sport as early as 1900, how the current climate could lead to changes in the game, and UNL and national research efforts to understand and mitigate injuries. more …

Funding agencies increasingly are expecting international collaborations in research and education grant proposals, especially for large grants. Historically, UNL faculty have played an important role in international research. In recent years, UNL faculty have again been more aggressively exploring collaborations in specific countries and in focused areas. I want to share my recent experiences with some of our faculty’s efforts in international collaborations. more …

From harnessing computing power to understanding the synthesis of coenzyme Q and from building better materials for solar cells to understanding how prions survive in soil and creating new nanomaterials, four pre-tenure UNL faculty earned National Science Foundation CAREER awards in 2012. more …

The UNL Research Council is soliciting nominations for faculty to present a Nebraska Lecture in 2013 or 2014. Nominations are due March 1.

The Nebraska Lectures: Chancellor’s Distinguished Lecture Series features high-profile presentations by distinguished UNL faculty. Lectures are designed for general audiences to provide insights about some of the university’s leading research, scholarship and creative activities. They represent the highest recognition the Research Council bestows on an individual faculty member. more …

University staff members who have provided invaluable service to the Office of Research and Economic Development were honored at the office’s annual staff recognition luncheon.

Prem Paul, vice chancellor for research and economic development, presented Invaluable Service Awards to

Mark Harris, University Museum associate director; Carrie Jackson, Nebraska Union events coordinator; and Craig Chandler, University Communications photographer and manager of publications and photography, for their contributions to the Office of Research and Economic Development in 2012. more …

The Environmental Health and Safety Office provides a valuable tool to help supervisors and employees consolidate safety and compliance information available from EHS into a virtual safety manual that is specific to their work at UNL. Virtual Manual is available from the EHS website and allows the campus community to create a unique written safety manual that can be printed or stored electronically and accessed through the EHS website at any time. more …

If you are submitting an application to Grants.gov, use extra care with file names to avoid delay.

Since August, Grants.gov has imposed attachment file name restrictions. If the file name doesn’t fit the requirements, your proposal won’t get to the sponsor until the problem is corrected and the proposal is resubmitted. more …

Recent awards, recognition and accomplishments by UNL faculty for research, scholarly and creative endeavors. We highlight faculty accomplishments in each issue of Research News. Let us know about yours by emailing the information to vmiller2@unl.edu.

The expertise and research, creative and scholarly activities of UNL faculty members often garner media coverage. University Communications highlights some of the national media attention for UNL faculty on its In the News website. Here you can find the latest media mentions of UNL faculty or search for information.

“Write Winning Grants,” a grant writing seminar designed to help UNL faculty prepare successful proposals, is March 15, 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m., in the Nebraska East Union.

The Office of Research and Economic Development offers this free grant seminar. While it’s primarily for faculty, other UNL staff, postdoctoral fellows and graduate students are welcome to attend without charge as space allows. Lunch is included. more …

The NURAMP (Research Administration Management Program) workshop series will be offered again in spring 2013, starting March 5. Dates, details and registration information are available on the NURAMP website.

Basic workshops include an introduction to research at UNL; strategies for working with the Office of Sponsored Programs to prepare and submit proposals; requirements for developing proposal budgets; aspects of the responsible conduct of research; and procedures for administering awards. more …

UNL’s Facilities and Administrative (F&A) cost rates for all externally funded grants and contracts have changed.

UNL’s latest negotiated F&A agreement took effect Sept. 19, 2012. Based on this agreement, the new rates for sponsored programs (externally funded grants and contracts) with the following start dates are: more …

The leadership of UNL’s Institutional Animal Care Program changed recently.

Deb Hamernik became interim director of IACP Jan. 15, and Kelly Heath became associate director. Hamernik and Heath continue their respective responsibilities as associate dean for the Agricultural Research Division and UNL attending veterinarian. more …

UNL students are invited to apply for NUtech Ventures’ second annual Boot Camp for Entrepreneurship and Technology, an intensive training course on how to turn an idea into a high-tech business. more …

The following list includes all arts and humanities grants of $10,000 or more and all other grants of $200,000 or more awarded to UNL between Sept. 16, 2012, and Jan. 15, 2013, as reported through NUgrant, UNL’s electronic research administration system.more …

Research News is an electronic and Web-based newsletter for the UNL research community that features information to enhance the success of our research, scholarship and creative activities. The UNL Office of Research and Economic Development electronically publishes the newsletter to provide news about research, faculty resources, services, policies and procedures, accomplishments and coming events. It is emailed to research-intensive faculty, staff, administrators and other interested parties. Feel free to share it with UNL colleagues.